Horoscope : definition, etymology and types

What is Horoscope?

Perhaps it would be best to first define astrology. Astrology is as old as the human history. Its name comes from the terms “astro” and “logos”, which mean “the word of the stars”. In the past, astrology and astronomy were not separated.

The British encyclopedia sets the beginning of astrology somewhere in the 3rd century BCE. Astrology spread in India and later on in Ancient Greece. The spread of astrology across Europe happened much later, during the Middle Ages. The development of astrology in China started since the ancient times.

The basic elements of natal astrology are the zodiac or the natal zodiac sign, the ascendant or the ascendant sign, the astrological houses, the position of planets in the astrological houses and in the zodiac signs, calculated based on the hour and even the minute of the birth and also on the geographical position of the birth place. Based on all these information, the astrological chart and the personal horoscope can be drawn.

Horoscope – etymology

An intuitive etymology: horo (from hōra “time” – old Greek) and skopos (to observe). Other derivatives of “horo” are: hour, scope – telescope, microscope etc. The literal translation of the term, in this etymological context: hour observation. The term reference: the birth hour of a person.

How many types of zodiacs there are? Hearing concepts as “floral zodiac”, “totemic zodiac” or “Indian zodiac”, can create some confusions. Beside the European Zodiac and the Chinese Zodiac, these being the most known zodiacs, there are also other sets of data influencing the development of an individual, determined by the position of the stars at the time of birth.

Anyone who wants to know more about the way the date of birth can influence one’s destiny, can use the zodiac. The European and the Chinese Zodiacs are not the only astrological “maps” of destiny. Beside these, there are the Indian zodiac, the tree or Celtic zodiac, the floral zodiac and the totemic zodiac.